Single-barrel mechanized trimmers exist and are widely used to trim stems and leaves from harvested plant material, such as, for example, hops, rosemary, oregano, basil, mint, lavender, coriander, parsley, mixed flowers, and other plant materials which may be used in the preparation of essential oils.
Many plants are commonly harvested in one season of the year, resulting in a large quantity of plant material which must be processed in a relatively short period of time. This creates pressure to utilize trimmers intensively. To increase processing capacity, some plant processors acquire additional trimmers, though the processors must carefully weigh the capital, repair, and storage costs presented by multiple trimmers and must provide additional staff to operate and maintain the additional equipment.
To increase the speed at which plant material can be processed by mechanized trimmers, multiple trimmers are sometimes operated in sequence, with the output stream from a first trimmer being fed into the inlet of the barrel of a second trimmer. This allows the plant material to be fed through the serially connected trimmer barrels at a faster rate while achieving a similar trimmed condition in the final output stream.
Gravity is often used to facilitate movement of the plant material through the barrel. The speed of the plant material through the trimmer may be varied by tilting the front end of the trimmer—the end of the trimmer with a hopper or funnel into which plant material is fed—higher than the back end of the trimmer—the end out of which the output stream flows. Tilting the trimmer is presently only achieved by using blocks or ramps to prop the front end up higher than the back end or by rotating the entire trimmer on a mechanism within the trimmer's frame (which may be difficult to do when the trimmers are positioned in sequence). This is awkward, time consuming, and may result in compromises between improving the trimmed condition of the plant material versus putting more time into adjusting the blocks or ramps used to tilt the trimmer.